Reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Last year I lined up Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë to read this year not knowing a movie would be released. This is the third time I’ll be reading this novel but it would be on my second read that I knew I wanted to come back to read this again.

I don’t think this is an easy read, I just about managed with the multi-storylines but the passages with the northern dialect of English were difficult, however, I was still amazed by this novel as it seemed very different and brave in how Emily Brontë told her story; what exactly, I could not explain when the characters were not easy to like. I also thought the story was more than the tumultuous rocky romance between Catherine and Heathcliff, which most movie adaptions concentrate on. I don’t know if I’ll watch the movie, maybe but last year I was determined to not let it be another year that slips by without reading this.

After reading this I will read I Am Heathcliff edited by Kate Mosse, a collection of short stories inspired by this novel.

I’m thrilled I’m reading this again, feel free to join me or add your comments of Wuthering Heights, the novel or any screen or audio adaptations. And if you are interested to read this but are hesitating then there are abridged editions, or ones written for a younger audience. These have helped me when I face difficult or challenging reads.

I've added an "About" to this topic to make it easier for interested readers to find.

Dr Sam Hirst just did a workshop last week about Wuthering Heights for Romancing the Gothic. A shame about the timing!

https://youtu.be/gfxLTB2IBvo is their "Romani Representation and Adaptations of Wuthering Heights" talk in video form

They've also discussed the book in a few interviews ahead of the new movie, if you're interested in reading them.

about toxic love stories and histories of adaptations - https://www.aol.com/articles/wuthering-heights-adaptations-miss-novel-010006343....

"Heathcliff is a really terrible landlord" - https://www.bigissue.com/culture/film/wuthering-heights-heathcliff-landlord/

If you can make it to the Brontë Parsonage Museum on the 28th, they're leading a workshop about the book and movie adaptations (though I think they said it may be fully booked?) - https://www.bronte.org.uk/events/wuthering-heights-on-screen-seminar-day

They also recommend checking out Madeline Potters work, like this video that gets into the racialisation of Heathcliff - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcDWob4wwuw

We've had some great discussions on bsky about the book in the past few weeks, spurred by Dr Hirst posting about their talks or commenting on the new movie. I thought the talk about Romani rep and the context around it was really interesting. And, too, why is it all the adaptations seem to stop with the first half?

>2 MarthaJeanne: thanks 🌞

>3 keristars: wow, fantastic and thank you for this.

This is a reread for me, this time I'm starting with reading the extras in the editions I own (I have 6, 4 come with notes and extras), one of these is the Norton's edition that includes reviews and responses to Wuthering Heights when it was first published, a mixed response that ranges from recognizing her genius to being repulsed by the novel. This range of response hasn't really changed and maybe this is partly down to the screen adaptations. My understanding is that the latest one has gotten very creative with its interpretation, but this was a trend that was started with the first movie back in the 1940s.

>6 AnishaInkspill: The early reviews are interesting! I think there's one about how it's sexless that's amusing in light of the film adaptations. But Cathy 1 and Heathcliff do seem to have a strange, asexual draw to each other. I think calling it a romantic relationship rather than some kind of maladaptive interdependency loses some of the weight of the whole thing, the way they aren't equipped to fully meet each other's needs yet lash out and destroy any one outside themselves. And, too, how the genuine romance between Cathy 2 and Linton (2) is a complete contrast and healing rather than destructive.

Oh, and there was a movie version in 1920! but it seems to be lost. we can hope someone discovers it in an attic before the film melts. 🤞

>7 keristars: Last time I read this I had my doubts about it being a romance and figured it was more a publishers label to market the book. I like old movies, 1920s makes a silent feature, that would be so amazing if that was found.

In continuing my reading I discovered that the 1850s edition has major edits by Charlotte Brontë, and wondered if one of my 6 books was this edition, more so when a couple of books are dvided by chapters only rather than volumes and chapters. After some checking I am going to say no (though I am not completely sure without reading them side by side). I've also checked the versions in the public domain and am fairly sure they are also the orginal version (1847) by Emily Brontë.

So, just wondering, does anyone have 1850s edition of Wuthering Heights?

>3 keristars: because Cathy dies in the first half?

>10 MrAndrew: Yeah but the second half actually is a happier romance! And she's a ghost! or they could have the actress play Cathy 2,too,with a new hairstyle.

Here is one movie of Wuthering Heights on You Tube. I have not seen it.
Free channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-qm0l08RtM
I did read all the comments.

>12 mnleona: Looks like that's the 2022 adaptation! Not sure how long the copyright holders will let it stay up though :)

I'm trying to decide whether I ought to try this again. I'm fairly sure I read at least part of it 50 some odd years ago and did not like it. I have a copy on the shelf, but would probably download it from Gutenberg and try to get through it the way I did Treasure Island. One chapter a day. For what it's worth my opinion on that did not change. Strongly disliked the whole thing. Both then and now.

>14 MarthaJeanne: My opinion is that it's supposed to be an off-putting book with horrible people we aren't supposed to like or admire. There is some base sort of glee in seeing just how awful they are, for me, and in the way the language expresses it.

And that's a very good reason to avoid reading it. We don't need to subject ourselves to reading about horrible people. (And, in fact, it's why I have no plans to reread it any time soon. Even if I did quite like it!)

>3 keristars: I've watched some of the first video - the historical info is amazing, and interesting, and will come back to this after I've finished watching it and the second one and thought more about it.

The big issue, yes I agree but that movie would never be made because there is no audience to watch it.

Re adaptations, I will probably watch this movie but it might be next year. What I would like to see is for them to make the movie they want to make. I don’t really mind they haven’t stuck to the book but I would have preferred the movie to called something like: The Other Heathcliff and Catherine Story, where they could say this movie was inspired by Emily Brontë’s novel. But I get it, the adaptations is a ready-market for them, meaning more sales, but surely, they have enough creativity to do this without riding on the coattails of, in this case, Wuthering Heights?

Now that movie that has been inspired by the book, that’s the one I want to see, as I’d want to see how it’s been inspired by that book.

I’ve skimmed through the first volume and gone back to read the chapters again. Joseph’s northern dialect (example in this image) would have been a challenge but the annotated notes in my Oxford World’s Classics is helping, and I was surprised by the comedy in the first three chapters. So far as a read I am finding this more interesting than enjoyable.

I’ve now read 60% to chapter 20, or volume 2, chapter 5, where so much has happened (just about keeping up), but this doesn’t come across as a romance to me, maybe a love story but this is just one part of the story.

I've really enjoyed reading this.

>19 AnishaInkspill: I'm glad you enjoyed it. I read it when I was very young and loved it. Then I reread it in college and found parts of it a bit tedious. (BTW, my professor at the time did not think their relationship was without sex.) I reread it a third time when I was in my 40s and I enjoyed it very much.

>20 clamairy: Isn't that fascinating, the book doesn't change but our responses to it do. I have to say one of my favourite things about reading is rereading, which is not good for me because there's a lot of books on my shelves I've yet to get to.

I've started reading I am Heathcliff stories compiled by Kate Mosse, I'm over a 1/3 way through, the stories are inspired by the themes in Wuthering Heights, the main one being toxic relationships, obsession and grief. i'm enjoying the 6 I've read so far, my two favourites from these 6 are more their punchy writing but they are all imaginative and dark.

i still haven't watched the movie, but I watched To Walk Invisible a biopic with the focus on Emily Brontë, which I thought was okay.